Aelyria is the original play by post creative experience on the Internet. Founded in 1989, Aelyria features collaborative storytelling wherein players assume the roles of heroes and villains as they explore, quest, and adventure across a vast original fantasy world designed by contributors and developed by members. Aelyria is host to a thriving artistic, musical, writing, and gaming community that creates compelling content and imagines an epic storyline of magic, romance, mystery and intrigue. Whether adventuring together or fighting against each other, players will form friendships, forge alliances, and compete with enemies for power and glory over a landscape dotted by ruined castles and thriving cities, plagued by monsters and brigands, colored by spellcraft and the gods, and plunged into political intrigue.

How does one play in Aelyria?

In Aelyria, thousands of players post stories about their characters over online message forums and bulletin boards; each forum represents a geographical location in a vast fantasy world that has been continuously developed by members for decades. Aelyria is like writing a collaborative fairytale with participants from throughout the world; each member writes about his or her character and the experience is mediated by impartial volunteer moderators who help narrate epic tales of magic, romance, mystery, and intrigue.

What is a Play by Post game?

A Play by Post game is a role playing experience where players post stories about their characters over online message forums or bulletin boards. In Aelyria, thousands of players interact over forums representing geographical locations in a vast world overseen by impartial moderators and stewarded by talented storytellers.

This creates an incredibly rich, detailed and active environment in which interesting things are constantly taking place. Aelyria provides countless hours of game play, with an infinite and open-ended atmosphere for storytelling where the only limit is your imagination. Aelyria is also constantly expanding with new content being added on a regular basis, both by volunteer contributors as well as by a professional full time team, thus ensuring there will always be new adventures, new locations, new creatures and new experiences to discover.

How does Aelyria differ from other games?

Aelyria is the first play by post game on the Internet and pioneered the play by post platform, spawning countless imitator sites. Due in part to its groundbreaking innovation and enduring longevity, Aelyria draws from a creative continuity that spans decades and features millions of contributions, including a richly detailed, gorgeously immersive world. Aelyria has been played continuously and iteratively since 1989 and nearly all historical events and world occurrences depicted in the Aelyria storyline have been role played by participating members.

Aelyria is also the largest play by post community on the web and is host to a thriving creative community of talented artists, inspired musicians, imaginative writers, and enthusiastic gamers whose fan works are proudly presented on our award-winning website. For more information about Aelyria's uniqueness, please visit the Help Guide.

How much does Aelyria cost?

Basic membership in Aelyria is totally free and open to the general public.

Premium options are available for subscription as there is an optional program for supporters wishing to benefit from exclusive features, like custom avatars and special access, called the Circle of Companions. There are four subscriber options: a month-to-month package at $4.99 per month, a three-month plan at $4.66 per month, a six-month plan at $4.16 per month, and a twelve-month plan at $3.33 per month. Subscription fees must be paid in advance of their terms.

Why are some features subscriber-only?

Aelyria offers basic membership for free, enabling all people to play the game and participate in our community for free. Some optional features to experience Aelyria are available only to members of our premium Circle of Companions program. The fee for the Circle of Companions is used to support the costs associated with the technical maintenance and upkeep of our website, high-quality levels of service, support, and ongoing content creation that go into Aelyria. In return for assisting Aelyria in meeting its expenses, subscribers gain exclusive access to these premium features.

Are there any technical requirements?

No. You can participate in Aelyria as long as you have access to the Internet and are using a web browser. Recommended browsers include the latest versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Opera. Aelyria is designed to work across all browsers, however, if you feel that your browser is not displaying our website properly, please submit a detailed bug report on the Project Tools.